Jewish Community Foundation Encourages Innovation Through Grants to Eighteen Organizations; Gifts to Community Groups Total $427,070.

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LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 9, 2002

The Jewish Community Foundation of Los Angeles has recognized 18 new and innovative Jewish community programs with grants totaling $427,070, it was announced today. Recipients include an October celebrity-studded event at the Universal Amphitheater to celebrate synagogues through music, and two programs at the Zimmer Children's Museum that promote compassion for and understanding of diverse ethnic communities of Los Angeles.

The Foundation, the charitable gift-planning agency for the Greater Los Angeles Jewish community, has sponsored new and innovative grants for more than a decade to invigorate Jewish communal life and encourage new approaches to common concerns. These awards represent just one portion of more than $1 million in Foundation Legacy Grants to Los Angeles-area nonprofit groups approved for 2002.

"Given the many stresses under which Americans, both Jews and non-Jews alike, have been living in the last year, we're especially excited to recognize these leading-edge efforts designed to enrich and improve our quality of life here in Southern California," said Marvin I. Schotland, president and CEO of The Foundation.

A Foundation grant of $50,000 will help kick off a program to enhance Jewish life through synagogue participation. The Sunday, October 20 event at the Universal Amphitheater titled "Hallelu: A Celebration of the Jewish Spirit" is expected to draw some 6,000 adults and youngsters. The program will open with 100 drummers and will feature performers Theodore Bikel, Craig Taubman and Debbie Friedman. Workshops and educational activities will follow throughout the year.

The Foundation grant will help "show how meaningful synagogues are" said Ellen Franklin, managing director of Synagogue 2000, the organizer of this special program.

Two Teach Tolerance, Diversity

Two grant recipient programs hosted by the Zimmer Children's Museum, located at The Jewish Federation at 6505 Wilshire Boulevard, will teach youngsters about culture and diversity. "A Child's Playhouse: Children's Visions of Home Around the World," received a $25,000 gift. Using children's illustrations of home and family, builders and architects will design and construct playhouses representing Los Angeles' diverse communities and cultures. The group plans to donate the playhouses to day care centers and other children's agencies.

A conference titled "Youth for Social Change: Building Safe, Compassionate and Inclusive Communities," also sponsored by the Zimmer Museum, received $10,000. The two-day conference will bring together some 60 high school students from diverse backgrounds to explore and share their visions for ideal communities. On the second day, student teams will work at AnimAction in Hollywood to create public service announcements that convey the important message of tolerance and respect for all peoples.

Grant Criteria

The Foundation's grants committee determined the eligibility for the awards. Criteria require the program to be new and innovative, and the proposal to demonstrate a substantiated need in the community.

The Foundation announced other awards to 15 groundbreaking programs:

-- Beit T'Shuvah, $25,000 for Shalom Justice, which brings together offenders and victims of nonviolent crimes in a restorative process

-- Board of Rabbis of Southern California, $10,000 for Synagogue Leadership Institute, a synagogue leadership training program for lay people

-- Brandeis-Bardin Institute, $20,650 for Weekend for Jewish Communal Professionals, a weekend retreat for Jewish community professionals

-- Bureau of Jewish Education, $27,200 for Israel Curriculum Initiative, a two-part educational program on Israel studies for teachers in the Jewish school system

-- Center for Jewish Culture and Creativity, $5,000 for Miracles and Lights, a cultural arts program that will create a performance piece about Hanukkah

-- Chai Lifeline-West Coast, $15,000 for Sib Art Shops, art therapy workshops and support for 40 children whose siblings have life-threatening diseases

-- Chai Lifeline-West Coast, $25,000 for Seasons of Respite, four one-day retreats for mothers caring for chronically or terminally-ill children

-- Jewish Family Service, $22,200 for Driving and the Older Adult, a workshop series for adult children of seniors about driving safety and related psychosocial issues

-- Jewish Federation, $20,000 for Connections, an East San Fernando Valley networking program aimed at unaffiliated Jewish adults

-- Jewish Federation, $10,000 for Interactive Community Video Briefs, a program that uses technology to engage young Jewish adults in taking social action on issues affecting the Los Angeles Jewish community

-- Jewish Hospice Projects-Los Angeles, $50,000 for Jewish Hospice Spiritual Counseling Program, a program that provides Jewish pastoral services to terminally ill individuals, their families and caregivers

-- Los Angeles Hillel Council, $10,000 for The Burning Bush Festival, an all-night festival for students from the Southwest to celebrate the social, spiritual, religious and cultural aspects of Jewish life

-- Los Angeles Jewish Symphony, $22,000 for Songs of our Heritage through the Generations, an intergenerational music program for the benefit of 1,000 elementary school students

-- Promoting Israel Education and Publicity Fund, $50,000 for The Israel-Christian Nexus, a program that aims to enhance the Los Angeles Christian community's understanding of Middle East conflict and further the appreciation for Israel's current difficulties

-- University of Judaism, $30,000 for Shorashim, a community-wide Jewish family education program involving workshops at 20 synagogues.

Established in 1954, the Jewish Community Foundation is the largest central clearinghouse for Jewish philanthropists in Southern California, with assets of more than $362 million. In 2001, The Foundation and individual donors distributed over $40 million in charitable grants to more than 1,300 not-for-profit organizations, both in the Jewish and general community.

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